BASAL GANGLIA T-2 RELAXATION-TIMES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - A QUANTITATIVE MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING STUDY IN RELATION TO TARDIVE-DYSKINESIA

Transverse, or spin-spin, relaxation times (T-2) from magnetic resonan ce images of basal ganglia structures were compared between control su bjects and patients with schizophrenia, who were subdivided on the bas is of the presence or absence of tardive dyskinesia, As a group, schiz ophrenic patients showed evidence of somewhat more prolonged T-2 relax ation times in the right putamen and globus pallidus than did control subjects; there were no significant correlations between hemispheric T -2 values and corresponding volumes of the lateral ventricles. Overall , there was little difference in T,values between patients with and wi thout tardive dyskinesia. These data extend the range of evidence for basal ganglia dysfunction in schizophrenia, but they do not support ea rlier reports of prominent T-2 changes associated with tardive dyskine sia.